WHILE profit making is an essential aim of any business, corporate responsibility is something that most businesses take seriously and do their bit to give back to the community.

One of the country’s leading supermarket chains — RB Patel — is doing its bit in spreading a much needed cheer among children who are undergoing heart surgery.

RB Patel has partnered with Children’s Heart Foundation Fiji and provided essential packs for the children.

RB Patel general manager operations Jignesh Chauhan said “the work carried out by the Children’s Heart Foundation in Fiji is important and RB Patel Group Ltd is proud to partner in this initiative.

“It’s a difficult time for the family and the child undergoing surgery.

“We wish the children a speedy recovery”.

Mr Chauhan said RB Patel Group Ltd yesterday provided the Children’s Heart Foundation with 30 hamper packs for the children undergoing surgery.

According to Mr Chauhan each pack consisted of essentials; baby food, milk, cereals, bathing soap and other necessities.

A statement from the company yesterday said the Children’s Heart Foundation Fiji with the Shree Satya Sai Sanjeeveni Hospital (Raipur, India) under the Sai Prema Foundation’s “Gift of Life Project” has so far assisted more than 180 children with Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) to access lifesaving surgery.

ONE Fiji’s biggest supermarket chains have spearheaded efforts in promoting the use of reusable bags in their outlets.

RB Patel Group has purchased more than 5000 reusable shopping bags for $13,900 from the Ba Women’s Forum, enabled through an ongoing partnership with the Ministry of Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation.

These reusable bags will be sold in several RB Patel outlets nationwide, further reducing the reliance on plastic bags which pose environmental and marine life threats.

The initiative was launched yesterday by Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama, coinciding with the a new 10 cents levy on plastic bag, an unprecedented measure to protect our natural environment from pollution.

“Today, we are celebrating the work of the Ba Women’s Forum to produce 5000 reusable shopping bags to give the Fijian people an alternative to using plastic bags.

“And I’d like to thank the forum members and all of our women entrepreneurs for showing us how green initiatives and women’s empowerment can go hand in hand.

“Through our Ministry of Women, we will be working alongside women’s groups to produce more reusable shopping bags throughout the country.”

Mr Bainimarama said more efforts would also be placed in helping hardworking women take advantage of the new market opportunity created through the levy on plastic bags.

He also acknowledged RB Patel for agreeing to promote the use of these new reusable bags in their outlets.

“I encourage every business house in Fiji to step up and do the same,” Mr Bainimarama said.

“With this new initiative, we are putting Fijian women on the front-lines of our effort to protect our environment and maintain the beauty and natural splendour of Fiji for the next generation.”

In a press conference yesterday, RB Patel Group chief operating officer Deepak Rathod said they were proud to be the first to launch a groundbreaking initiative.

“I’m quite sure that this will take effect quite quickly and the people of Fiji should follow suit with protecting the environment. We are glad to help with the initiative,” he said.

Ba Women’s Forum president Dr Maria Doton said the initiative was significant as it also motivated the forum which consists of 64 women clubs with more than 800 rural women.

“This is the first big project that we have undertaken, and of course through the support of the Ministry of Women,” she said.

“Through these bags, we hope to also reach that peak point where our members are encouraged to perform and are also to encourage to see the value of their work in contributing to the mother earth.

“Being women, we know our responsibilities as stewards of this earth and the creation that is given to us is vast and aside from that the money that is earned will benefit the women and their families.”

The forum is also the process of advancing their bags into insulated bags for frozen goods and gauging more orders from retailers.

The Ba Women’s Forum yesterday delivered more than 5000 reusable shopping bags as an alternative to using plastics for shopping

Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama while launching the ‘plastic bag levy and reusable shopping bags to replace plastic bags’ at RB Patel Centerpoint in Laucala Beach, said it would be an alternative to using plastic bags.

Mr Bainimarama also handed a cheque of more than $13,000 to the women’s forum for the reusable bags.

Women forum president Dr Maria Doton said the forum was made of 64 clubs from within Ba consisting of more than 800 women.

RB Patel Group Chief Operating Officer, Deepak Rathod said it was high time that people should start protecting the environment and use reusable bags.

Fijian Holdings Limited Group chief executive officer and RB Patel Group Limited director, Nouzab Fareed said they had made a commitment to continue purchasing the bags from Ba Women’s Forum and the sale of plastics bag at their supermarkets would be reduced.

The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism would ensure the bags were of high quality to qualify under the Fijian Made brand.

ONE of the biggest chain of supermarkets in the country has had an exceptional year with total revenue, including other income this year, increasing by 9.5 per cent to almost $118 million.

This increase reflects RB Patel Group Ltd’s improving consumption spending and incorporates the additional input into the economy from the FNPF funds released after Severe TC Winston.

This was highlighted in the Fijian Holdings Ltd (FHL) 2016 Annual Report which was released recently.

FHL owns 53.50 per cent stake of RB Patel Group Ltd.

The report said the company’s profit after tax for the year increased by more than 24 per cent and was $7.4m compared with $5.9m last year.

It says this is an extremely pleasing result for the company and its shareholders.

It adds that construction works at the company’s residential property in Suva has commenced and the apartment complex is expected to be completed early next year.

The JetPoint car park development is also in progress and is expected to be completed later this year.

“The board is considering further developments of our HarbourPoint property in Lami soon. We continue to search for new sites for stores keeping in mind that these should add value for our shareholders,” the report said.

IN A BID to make shopping easier for its customers, RB Patel Group Ltd launched its online shopping last week.

General manager operations Fiji Jignesh Chauhan said they did a soft launch last week to ensure everything worked as it should.

“Good news. We have started receiving orders — the furthest was from Norway buying groceries for family in Udu Point. They chose to pick up the shopping from our Labasa supermarket,” said Mr Chauhan.

RB Patel Group Ltd joins a growing number of businesses going online on the world wide web and the group’s website, www.rbpatel.com.fj, offered online shopping, targeting expatriate Fijians living and working overseas as well as friends of people living in Fiji.

Mr Chauhan said the service they were providing to their customers who had families, fathers, wives, husbands working overseas.

“Our online site assists them to save money by saving on the expensive money transfer fees. With our shopping online there are no exacerbate fees and instead of sending money they can now buy groceries online and have delivered and or picked up by family members here in Fiji,” he said.

According to Mr Chauhan, families can get delivery of their shopping in about 72 hours from when the order was placed.

The company also has shopping vouchers and gift vouchers that are available online for families to send to their relatives and friends living in Fiji.

RB Patel Supermarket customers can now do their shopping online placing orders from either locally or anywhere in the world using their credit card.

Their website, www.rbpatel.com.fj offers online shopping and targets expatriate Fijians living and working overseas as well as friends of people living in Fiji.

Fijian families and friends can now purchase selected grocery and household items, stationeries, toys and other products available at RB Patel supermarkets.

Shopping vouchers and gift vouchers are also available online to send for families and friends living in Fiji.

Families staying overseas who are not able to be part of family functions like birthdays, marriages, funerals, religious functions can now contribute directly to these functions and events by simply going on the online store.

In fact there are people from a number of far away countries who have actually already taken advantage of this.

RB Patel offers a convenient, simple and easy way to be part of your family while staying thousands of miles away. Using the online store will also give savings on money transfer fees.